Why a Booktrail?
1976: The first in the classic Tales of the city – San Francisco
Tales Of The City: 1
What you need to know before your trail
San Francisco, 1976. A naïve young secretary, fresh out of Cleveland, tumbles headlong into a brave new world of laundromat Lotharios, pot-growing landladies, cut throat debutantes, and Jockey Shorts dance contests. The saga that ensues is manic, romantic, tawdry, touching, and outrageous – unmistakably the handiwork of Armistead Maupin.
Travel Guide
San Francisco
Macondray Lane
The inspiration for Barbary Lane is Macondray Lane – though the location is not where Armistead describes here though..
“The house was on Barbary Lane, a narrow, wooded walk-way off Leavenworth between Union and Filbert. It was a well-weathered, three-story structure made of brown shingles. It made Mary Ann think of an old bear with bits of foliage caught in its fur. She liked it instantly.”
The Buena Vista – 2765 Hyde Street at Beach
“She came to the city alone for an eight-day vacation. On the fifth night, she drank three Irish coffees at the Buena Vista, realized that her Mood Ring was blue, and decided to phone her mother in Cleveland.”
Washington Square Park
The location where Anna Madrigal met Edgar Halcyon in the “Tales of the City”
“He sat down on a bench in Washington Square. Next to him was a woman who was roughly his age. She was wearing wool slacks and a paisley smock. She was reading the Bhagavad Gita.
Did you know? : A time capsule was buried underneath Benjamin Franklin in 1979. It contains a copy of “Tales of the City”
Dede and Beauchamp’s penthouse – 1360 Montgomery
“Beauchamp and DeDe moved into a fashionable Art Deco penthouse on Telegraph Hill. They entertained lavishly and were frequently seen at philanthropic extravangansas…by almost everyone, it seemed, but Mary Ann Singleton.”
Queen Wilhelmina’s Windmill – Kennedy Drive
Norman and MaryAnn have a serious talk here in in the “Tales of the City” miniseries.
Jackson Square
General vicinity of Halcyon Communications
“Halcyon Communications had been a food-processing warehouse in an earlier incarnation. Now its mellow brick walls blazed with supergraphics and rental art. Matrons shopping for Louis Quinze bargains in Jackson Square often mistook its secretaries for top fashion models.
Booktrail Boarding Pass: Tales of the City 1
Destination : San Francisco Author/Guide: Armistead Maupin Departure Time: 1976
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